Beckie says women’s team won’t settle for anything less than equal pay

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Players on the Canadian women’s national team have a very clear message when it comes to their negotiations with Canada Soccer.

“We want equal pay, and we're not willing to settle for anything less,” Janine Beckie told TSN on Wednesday.

The Canadian women have been negotiating with Canada Soccer on a new compensation agreement since their previous one expired at the end of 2021. In a statement released Sunday, the team clarified that they are seeking equal dollars to the men’s team, not equal percentages.

Beckie, a forward on the national team, is also a player representative for the Canadian Soccer Players Association, a group that protects the rights and interests of the women’s national team. 

“We see it as equal pay for equal work,” she said. 

As an example, the prize money for the men’s World Cup this year is $440 million, while the amount is $60 million for next year’s women’s tournament.

“So, if the CSA were to say we'll give you equal percentages of your respective FIFA prize money, there's a massive disparity in those amounts between the men's team and the women's team,” Beckie said.

The Canadian women are seeking something similar to what the U.S. women’s and men’s teams were recently able to achieve with their federation in an agreement reached last month.

That deal will see the two teams paid equally for game appearances and tournament victories. The two sides will also pool their World Cup prize money and split the funds, after the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF) takes its cut.

Beckie acknowledges that there are key differences between the two federations, with the USSF being a much larger organization, but she still views the American deal as the benchmark.

“Our core message is that gender